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09.22.2025 Park Commission Meeting Minutes CITY OF SHOREWOOD5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Vice-Chair Garske convened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. A. Roll Call Present: Commissioners Garske, Bahneman, and Sylvester; City Council Liaison Sanschagrin; Parks and Recreation Manager Czech Absent: Chair Hirner and Commissioner Wenner B. Review Agenda Commissioner Bahneman moved to approve the agenda as written. Commissioner Sylvester seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of August 26, 2025 Commissioner Sylvester moved to approve the minutes of the August 26, 2025, meeting as written. Commissioner Bahneman seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR Barry Brown, 6050 Burlwood Court, stated that he had lived in Shorewood for 30 years, and his home backs up to woods in Freeman Park. He explained his involvement in helping the City put together volunteer events for the removal of buckthorn, and had brought in Mike Schuster from the University of Minnesota for the study in the section of the woods that were not cleared out. He stated that he wanted to talk about the woods and urged the City to begin some kind of recognition program for volunteers who spend countless hours in the City parks and community spaces. He shared examples of resident volunteer work that has been done on their own time and their own expense. He noted that he believed that there were a lot of possible recognition opportunities that could be accomplished with little to no cost. He explained that if the City adopted a recognition program, he was willing to donate $500 to the program to buy shirts, pins, hats, or plaques. He explained that the City has been talking about park benches for the last few years, and former Planning Director Darling had thoughts about standardizing the benches. He noted that when the concrete pad was included, the total cost was around $4,000 for a bench. He distributed information on a bench he had built behind his home, located on park property, and described where he got the material for the bench. He stated that the difference between the plastic benches recommended by staff and his wooden bench is that his wooden bench fits into the woods. He asked the Commission to consider putting more of this type of bench in the park area. He explained that he would offer to build them for the City for free and was also willing to maintain them. He noted that he had placed cement blocks under them so they would not have to worry about Public Works being able to get around them, but would also be removed and replaced if necessary. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 PAGE 2 OF 6 Commissioner Sylvester thanked Mr. Brown for his work on this bench and noted that she had used it when she was out walking. Vice-Chair Garske thanked Mr. Brown for his ideas on both issues. Parks and Recreation Director Czech noted that the bench issue was planned for discussion on a future agenda. He stated that staff felt the bench built by Mr. Brown looked great and fit the aesthetics of the woods, but noted that there may need to be some inspections done in order for them to be placed on City property related to possible liability issues, such as splinters. He explained that he would look into this a bit more and plans to add it to their future Memorial Bench discussions. Mr. Brown noted that Parks and Recreation Director Czech had asked him to help put together a group of people for the discussion related to the Parks Master Plan. He stated that there were about 10 people involved in the discussion, and one of the ideas they discussed was some wood artwork spread throughout the wooded areas. Commissioner Bahneman stated that they had talked about tree planting at the same time and asked if that would be trees that would be bought from the City, and noted that this had come up at the Council meeting. Parks and Recreation Director Czech stated that staff’s idea with the memorial trees was that the City purchases trees every year to plant throughout the park system, so the idea is that those trees would also be incorporated into that yearly purchase. 4. GENERAL BUSINESS A. Parks Master Plan Update Parks and Recreation Manager Czech stated that the Parks Master Plan was moving along and had moved into the recommendation stage. He stated that they have discovered quite a few consistent themes that have arisen within the public engagement and noted that a full list of their preliminary findings would be coming soon. He noted that there would be a public engagement session during Oktoberfest and another scheduled at SCEC. He reminded the Commission that they had also decided to hold an Open House before the October 28, 2025, Park Commission meeting as well. He stated that the community survey results were included in the packet. Vice-Chair Garske asked if anyone on the Commission was going to be able to attend the Oktoberfest event and noted that he did not think he would be able to attend. Commissioner Sylvester stated that she would attend. Commissioner Bahneman stated that she may only be able to attend for part of the time because she was helping move her granddaughter into her first apartment. Vice-Chair Garske asked if the Commission had any reactions they wanted to share about the survey responses that were received. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 PAGE 3 OF 6 Commissioner Sylvester stated that something that surprised her was the answer to the question on why they did not use the parks, and two people answered that they did not feel safe. The Commission discussed the feedback related to bikes and e-bikes, how some of the feedback conflicted, and some of the ideas shared. Vice-Chair Garske noted that, in hindsight, it would have been a good idea to delineate between parks and trails in the survey. B. City Code Updates Parks and Recreation Director Czech explained that the City has been working through a variety of policy and City Code updates. He noted that as part of this review, staff had looked at Chapter 902, which relates to Public Parks and Recreation Areas. He stated that they are recommending a few changes, but none were major updates. He reviewed the recommendation to change the park hours to be 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; that food trucks be allowed with written permission from the City Administrator or their designee; and that Freeman Park be added as an additional location where the City can authorize sale, service, and/or consumption of alcohol. He noted that Commissioner Wenner had submitted some comments on this item since she was not able to attend tonight’s meeting. He read aloud the feedback from Commissioner Wenner on the staff recommendations. Commissioner Bahneman asked if it would be reasonable for food trucks to become certified by the Fire Department in advance so they would not have to jump through that additional hoop. Parks and Recreation Director Czech explained that the Excelsior Fire District does yearly inspections, and once they pass, they are permitted by them to operate for the year. Commissioner Sylvester asked about the Eddy Station and asked if there was a chance somebody would sell concessions again. Parks and Recreation Director Czech explained that Tonka United does have their own concession operations out of the building during their activities, and there is also a summer rec program through Minnetonka Community Ed, which also utilizes the building. He stated that the City did not really have plans to do more. The Commission discussed park hours, food trucks, and allowing liquor in other parks throughout the City. Commissioner Sylvester moved to recommend approval of the recommended changes to City Code Chapter 902: Public Parks and Recreation Areas, changing park hours to 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., allowing the City Administrator and their designee to permit food trucks within the parks, and adding Freeman Park to be an authorized location to serve alcohol, with written permission from the City Council for an approved special event. Commissioner Bahneman seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. C. Movie in the Park Recap Parks and Recreation Director Czech stated that the City held its Movie in the Park event on August 22, 2025, where they showed Lilo and Stitch. He reviewed some of the Hawaiian-themed PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 PAGE 4 OF 6 activities staff had included, such as lei building station, temporary tattoos, popsicles, hula hoops, and glow-in-the-dark bracelets. He stated that he also had an engagement board for the ongoing Parks Master Plan and was able to receive valuable feedback from the attendees. He noted that they had about 75 attendees and noted that the overall feedback was positive. He explained that they were informed, as people arrived, that Excelsior had scheduled their Movie in the Park event for the same night, so people ended up having to decide whether they wanted to watch Snow White or Lilo and Stitch. He stated that Excelsior had made the decision to schedule their event at the last minute and explained that staff had spoken with Excelsior staff about chatting about either collaborating and coordinating next year, so they do not schedule them on the same night. He reviewed some considerations for future events, including: the possibility of moving it to a different night of the week or different time of the year; consider combining with another event or collaborating with Tonka United during their kick-off event; continue small movie-themed activities; and consider having a poll so the community can select the movie. He noted that something that was not included in the memo was that Tonka United had reached out to the City because the World Cup takes place next year, and they were interested in hosting some World Cup viewing events at Freeman Park. The Commission discussed: the possibility of changing the event date and time; adding other activities such as bonfires and s’mores; the potential to partner up with another event; and hosting a Trick-or-Trail event in the fall. Park and Recreation Director Czech noted that Commissioner Wenner had also included comments on this item and read aloud her feedback. D. Park Maintenance Items Parks and Recreation Director Czech noted that the park maintenance team has been doing a great job of addressing the needs that were noted during the 2024 Park Tour. He stated that staff had updated the spreadsheet by removing things that had been completed, so it was easier for the Commission to keep track of what still needed to be done. He explained that they had also added things from the individual park tours that the Commission did this year. He read aloud some of the notes that were submitted by Commissioner Wenner. Mr. Brown noted that he had asked Commissioner Wenner to include something on her list, but she seemed to have forgotten it. He explained that the University of Minnesota recommended that the City do buckthorn removal with the machinery the City bought three times per year. He noted that there was also a specific grass seed recommended by the University of Minnesota that would help kill the buckthorn. Commissioner Sylvester stated that she had submitted a list of items that did not appear to be included on the spreadsheet. She gave examples of the grill at Manor Park that was unstable, and the brick wall at Silverwood, which had had loose bricks that she felt were safety issues. Parks and Recreation Director Czech noted that he had sent this information to Public Works and noted that he may not have remembered to save her feedback and include it on the spreadsheet, but would go back and take a look at what she had submitted and make sure it was included. He explained that he would follow up on Commissioner Sylvester’s items and send an update to the Commission. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 PAGE 5 OF 6 Vice-Chair Garske stated that he would also like to see the field signs repainted if they cannot be replaced. Parks and Recreation Director Czech noted that staff believed that there may be some updates suggested by the consultant within the Parks Master Plan, so they were waiting to see what the recommendation was, so they could coordinate efforts to update some of the signs. E. 2025 Oktoberfest Preview Parks and Recreation Director Czech reviewed the plans for the upcoming Oktoberfest event in partnership with the Excelsior Morning Rotary and the Excelsior American Legion Post 259 on September 27, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. He explained that activities would transition over to the Excelsior American Legion from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. He briefly reviewed some of the planned family-friendly activities and noted that they had added a second face painter because it was very popular last year. He noted that there would be a petting zoo, Bach to Rock, and both fire and police vehicles at the event, provided there was not an emergency so they were needed elsewhere. He explained that Mathnasium of Minnetonka and Chanhassen would be sponsoring Family Bingo, and Tonka United would be hosting 3 on 3 soccer games on the turf, along with the lawn games. He reminded the Commission that he was looking for volunteers to help man the Parks Master Plan engagement station and to help with Family Bingo and other activities. 5. REPORTS / UPDATES A. City Council Councilmember Sanschagrin reported on recent Council discussions. B. Staff Parks and Recreation Director Czech stated that the City had new agenda software and asked if the Commission had all received the login information and they had been able to get in to view things. He asked them to let him know if they had issues when they logged in. He explained that this program would be how packets would be distributed in the future. He noted that at last night’s City Council meeting, the Southshore Senior Partners gave a presentation about their organization, the programming they provide, and the future of the program. He stated that the Council had also approved recruitment for the Seasonal Ice Rink Attendants. He noted that Chair Hirner was scheduled to present at the next City Council meeting, but since he was not here tonight, he asked if anyone else would be available on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. Vice-Chair Garske stated that he would be able to present to Council in October. C. Commission Commissioner Sylvester noted that the Open House was scheduled before the next Park Commission meeting and asked what time staff would like the Commission to arrive. Parks and Recreation Director Czech suggested that the Commission be here by 5:30 p.m. if possible. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 PAGE 6 OF 6 7. ADJOURN Commissioner Bahneman moved to adjourn the Park Commission Meeting of September 23, 2025, at 8:35 p.m. Commissioner Sylvester seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.